Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
expressed its concern over the acts of violence and discrimination
against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) people
that have been reported since the start of 2019 in different
countries in the Americas. The IACHR calls upon OAS member states to
take urgent, effective measures to guarantee the life, safety,
personal integrity, and dignity of people regardless of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and bodily diversity, including
through laws and policies that promote cultural change in societies.
It also calls on states to investigate, prosecute, and punish those
responsible for these events.

So far in 2019, the IACHR has received information regarding violent
incidents including assaults, malicious murders, sexual violence, and
discrimination against LGBTI people in the region. In the course of the
monitoring work it carries out on violence against LGBTI people in the
Americas, the IACHR has received information on the following specific
attacks and warns that the invisibility surrounding this issue means that
other such incidents may have taken place that have not yet come to light.

The IACHR was informed that on January 1, 2019, a gay couple from the
city of Porvenir, Chile, were attacked by two men who threw a pot of boiling
water at one of them and immersed the other in a tub of boiling water. One
of the victims of the attack, José David Muñoz Vargas, 52 years old,
suffered severe burns on 22% of his body and was admitted to a hospital in
Santiago. The IACHR was also informed that on the same day, in the city of
Valparaíso, Chile, a 24-year-old man was attacked by people who had offered
to help him reach his destination in the Laguna Verde area. According to
information received from civil society representatives, the victim was
pulled out of the car he was traveling in with two other people and was
physically attacked after a telephone conversation revealed that he was gay.
He received cigarette burns on his hands and was hit on the head with a
rock. The IACHR also received information on a case of rape and aggression
against a 14-year-old Chilean girl who civil society representatives
reported was abused sexually by her stepfather because she was a lesbian and
beaten by her biological father for the same reason. The IACHR notes that
these events have been publicly condemned and are being investigated by the
relevant authorities. The IACHR also notes that the president of the
Republic of Chile has condemned all acts of aggression that are perpetrated
on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Furthermore, the IACHR learned of the murder of a 17-year-old Peruvian
boy on January 1, 2019, in San Martín, Peru. The murderer was the boy’s own
father, who allegedly shot him for being gay and then committed suicide.
With regard to this particular case, the IACHR notes that authorities have
begun investigations and that the exact motives for the murder are not yet
clear. In this sense, the IACHR is aware of how difficult it is to determine
whether a given act of violence was prompted by prejudice and notes that
establishing this requires a thorough investigation into the causes of
attacks under the principle of due diligence.

The IACHR also learned that on January 5, 2019, Pablo Dell’Oso, a young
gay man, was attacked as a consequence of his sexual orientation and left
unconscious after leaving a nightclub in the city of Córdoba, Argentina.
Another similar incident took place on the same day, when trans activist
Lara María Bertolini’s skull was fractured after being attacked with a
bottle while she was walking her dog in the City of Buenos Aires. The
attacker made discriminatory statements during the assault. The IACHR also
received reports about an attack on a group of gay and lesbian young people
on January 6, 2019. The group was verbally and physically assaulted at a
nightclub at the end of the Diversity Festival in the city of El Bolsón, Río
Negro Province, Argentina. The attack was apparently brought on by two young
men kissing in the street. The Argentine state informed the IACHR that in
the cases of Pablo Dell’Oso and the young people in El Bolsón, complaints
were filed with the appropriate police departments.

The IACHR is concerned over the information it has received regarding the
violent, malicious murder of Quelly da Silva, a 35-year-old trans woman who
was murdered on January 20, 2019, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The
perpetrator allegedly committed the crime because he considered the victim
to be “a demon.” After killing her, he cut out her heart and left a
religious image in its place. The IACHR also learned of the death of Vanusa
da Cunha Ferreira, a 36-year-old lesbian, on January 19, 2019, in the
Brazilian state of Goiás. According to the information the IACHR received,
the accused confessed that he tried to rape the victim to change her sexual
orientation and then killed her to stop her from struggling. The cause of
death was multiple blows to the head.

The IACHR was also informed of an attack on a gay male couple on January
20, 2019, in Rosarito, Mexico. According to media reports, a group of
individuals allegedly broke into the couple’s house in the state of Baja
California and attacked them with stones. One of the two died of serious
head injuries following the attack.

The IACHR also received information regarding the murder of two trans
women in El Salvador in two different incidents that took place on February
3 and 8, 2019, respectively. The first of the victims died in hospital from
multiple injuries. The second victim was attacked with a machete and also
died in hospital as a result of this.

In addition to the worrying information about these violent incidents
against LGBTI people entailing extreme viciousness and cruelty, the IACHR is
concerned about the fact that such attacks are significantly underreported.
Violence against LGBTI people in the Americas is often not reported to
authorities or covered by the media, which leads to invisibilization. In
this regard, OAS member states have an obligation to implement data
collection policies to better document particular manifestations of violence
and discrimination and to produce statistical information on violence based
on sexual orientation and gender identity with a view to developing public
policies that protect the human rights of LGBTI people.

In light of the above, the IACHR reiterates that when violence against
LGBTI people is condoned or tolerated, this violence is reproduced, which
stokes prejudice against these groups. The IACHR notes that OAS member
states have made efforts to investigate into these events and reminds them
of their duty to act with due diligence to investigate, prosecute, punish,
and provide redress for human rights violations, including murders and other
acts of violence, in compliance with their international obligations. It
also wishes to stress that in these cases, due diligence means that states
must take into account the different ways in which LGBTI people experience
violence and adjust their lines investigation accordingly, so as to take
into account possible motivations based on prejudice relating to sexual
orientation, gender expression or identity, and/or bodily diversity.

The IACHR notes that several of the acts of violence reported at the
beginning of 2019 occurred in public spaces. In this regard, the IACHR
wishes to stress that like all people, LGBTI people have the right to go
about their business freely in both public and private spaces without
suffering violence or discrimination. Being able to use public spaces
without suffering discrimination or violence is an important factor in the
social inclusion of the LGBTI community, as it fosters social cohesion, the
exchange of ideas and experiences, respect for diversity, and political
participation, and promotes a feeling of belonging to the community or place
where one lives. In this regard, the rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI
people, Commissioner Flávia Piovesan, stated that “LGBTI people should not
have to avoid visiting public parks out of fear they might be attacked at
any moment due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. LGBTI people
being denied access to public and cultural spaces because of violence and
discrimination translates into a major limitation on their right to exercise
their personal autonomy, to develop freely, and to form relationships with
other human beings, with their community, and with the outside world.”

The IACHR also wishes to emphasize that acts of violence against
women—including lesbian, bisexual, and trans women—are experienced as
intersecting manifestations of structural and historical sexism and
prejudice against non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities.
Lesbian women are particularly at risk of sexual violence due to misogyny
and gender inequality. Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, rapporteur on
women’s rights, added that “states have an obligation under the Convention
of Belém do Pará to prevent, punish and eradicate all forms of violence
against women, including lesbian, bisexual, trans, and intersex women. This
is part of every woman’s right to live free from violence and
discrimination.”

In light of the above, the IACHR wishes to reiterate that states should
take all necessary measures to prevent violations of the human rights of
LGBTI people under their jurisdiction, particularly when they are aware of
the risk that these people are exposed to. It also wishes to stress that
this obligation includes a duty on the part of states to foster cultural
change within their societies through positive actions, with a view to
modifying social patterns of violence and discrimination against people with
different sexual orientations and gender identities, regardless of whether
these are real or perceived.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.